Here are The Sporting News' California football top 25 team rankings for Week One of the 2025 season.
The rankings will be updated every week throughout the season.
SN's CIF-Southern Section high school football top 25 rankings
1. Mater Dei (1-0 – 1st last week)
The Monarchs' win at Florida powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas was among their most bizarre in recent memory. Mater Dei won the second quarter 26-0 and the game 26-23. Not ideal, but enough to retain the undisputed No. 1 ranking in the section, state, and country.
2. St. John Bosco (1-0 – 2nd)
Have out-of-state teams not learned their lesson about poking the bear? After Florida fans spent weeks on social media questioning St. John Bosco's ability to play in the humidity – just like many other South/East Coast opponents in recent years – the Braves beat Manatee 31-0 by halftime when the game was called due to thunderstorms. Expect a similar result next week against Eastwood (TX) – inclement weather not withstanding.
3. Corona Centennial (1-0 – 3rd)
One of the first statement wins of the near belongs to Cen10, which routed Servite 42-14 in a game it led 35-0 at halftime. Its mostly new skill position core of QB Dominick Catalano, RB Malaki Davis, WR Ty Plinski, and TE Keawe Browne balled out, as did its defense. Plinski's touchdown catch was the No. 1 play of the day and No. 2 play of the week on SportsCenter. Next week brings another Trinity League test against Santa Margarita.
4. Orange Lutheran (1-0 – 4th)
Backing up the high ranking so far, OLu toughed out a 17-15 win against nationally-ranked Florida foe Miami Northwestern. Its non-league slate doesn't get much easier from here: Rancho Cucamonga, Basha (AZ), Serra (Gardena), and Sierra Canyon.
5. Mission Viejo (1-0 – 5th)
Mission Viejo has already turned in one of the defensive gems of the year to beat Santa Margarita 7-3. Luke Fahey was, while not prolific, surgical under center, completing 15 of 20 passes for 179 yards, a touchdown, and no turnovers. Santa Margarita transfer Jack Junker caught the only touchdown of the game, a difficult 33-yard dime from Fahey.
6. Sierra Canyon (1-0 – 7th)
Talk about starting with a bang. After JSerra has spoiled some of Sierra Canyon's season-openers in recent years, the Trailblazers built on last year's 35-7 thumping with a 35-0 blowout. Look for them to do the same at Oaks Christian on Friday, but it could be a trap game if they don't bring another strong effort.
7. Santa Margarita (0-1 – 6th)
While Mission Viejo's amazing defense was the No. 1 story in Santa Margarita's 7-3 loss, Santa Margarita's amazing defense was right behind it, quieting one of the nation's steadiest passing games. Carson Palmer has to wait at least one more week to get his first win as head coach, but with Corona Centennial on deck, it might take another week after that.
8. Servite (0-1 – 9th)
Servite's season-opening loss to Corona Centennial wasn't quite cause for concern given how promising the second half was. While the Huskies took their feet off the gas pedal a bit, Servite won the second half 14-7 and looked the part while doing it. This week's battle with Murrieta Valley should be a better game and barometer.
9. JSerra (0-1 – 10th)
Given the Lions' success against Sierra Canyon and penchant for fast starts in recent years, their inability to compete in a 35-0 loss to the Traiblazers definitely is cause for concern. But also not enough to warrant a drop in the rankings given who it was that beat them. JSerra has a chance to regroup against another formidable foe this week hosting Damien.
10. Serra-Gardena (1-0 – 11th)
A 26-0 victory is vintage Serra, and that was the final score to beat Palos Verdes in its season opener. Ohio State commit Khary Wilder was hot out of the gate with nine tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks, and a fumble recovery.
11. Murrieta Valley (1-0 – 13th)
The Nighthawks started with a 28-26 victory over Rancho Cucamonga. Not enough to move the needle, but solid. Sophomore QB Ty Isaia broke out with 211 yards, two touchdown passes, and one interception on 8-14 completion plus three carries for 52 yards.
12. San Juan Hills (1-0 – 14th)
Living up to the hype so far, outscoring a loaded Chaparral offense 38-33 to start with a win behind all the usual faces. Timmy Herr completed 17 of 24 passes (70.8%) for 255 yards and three touchdowns, Elijah Ayala ran for 128 yards and a TD on 12 carries, and Luke Frith, Ryan Matheson, and Dean Kolasinski all had a TD catch.
13. Chaparral (0-1 – 15th)
While a 38-33 loss to San Juan Hills was surely a disappointing start to the season for the Pumas, it's far from a damnation on the road against a higher-ranked team. With that said, it doesn't get much easier from here for them. Chaparral takes a bye week and then heads to San Clemente and Rancho Cucamonga before debuting at home against Great Oak and Mission Viejo.
14. Yorba Linda (1-0 – 16th)
While Yorba Linda was the heavy favorite opening up against Mayfair, a 41-0 beatdown was even more lopsided than most expected. This week should be a total tossup as 14th-ranked Mustangs head to No. 15 Edison.
15. Edison-Huntington Beach (1-0 – 17th)
Edison already has a close win under its belt with a 20-13 win against Clovis West. It wasn't a statement victory, but with Yorba Linda coming to town this week, a little bit of pressure from the very start probably wasn't bad for the Chargers.
16. Los Alamitos (2-0 – 18th)
It's only the start of "Week One", and the Griffins already have two wins against quality competition. After a rare Week Double Zero comeback win against Inglewood, they handed solid Hawaii foe Kapolei its first loss by a score of 34-31.
17. Damien (1-0 – 20th)
Knocking on the door of our statewide top 25, Damien struggled to pull away in a 20-15 win over Aquinas but still notched a win over a quality opponent.
18. Chaminade (1-0 – 24th)
Led by a tremendous offensive line, Chaminade started 2025 with a bang by taking down Oaks Christian – which was ranked 10th in the state – 42-27. One could argue both teams should be a few spots higher, and they'll have plenty of time to rise further.
19. Oaks Christian (0-1 – 8th)
The biggest dropper of Week Zero was Oaks Christian, but there's plenty of time and opportunities to get on track. The rest of the Lions' non-league schedule is brutal though – Sierra Canyon, Liberty (Bakersfield), Santa Margarita, and Serra (Gardena).
20. Millikan (2-0 – 22nd)
The first team to 2-0 along with Los Alamitos. After hitting the road to beat Foothill (NV) 27-13 the previous week, Millikan ambushed higher-ranked Newbury Park 49-20 at home in Ashton Pannell's debut as a Ram after transferring from Loyola – the team they play this week. Pannell completed 9 of 11 passes for 333 yards and four touchdowns and ran for a touchdown, and Jude Nelson and Landon Ross were his top targets.
21. Inglewood (0-2 – 19th)
Already 0-2 entering Week One, but we still see the Sentinels finding their footing sooner than later. Their schedule is fairly unrelenting for the next month though with St. Bonaventure, Downey, and Midland (TX) coming up before they start Bay League play against Leuzinger.
22. Newbury Park (0-1 – 12th)
Newbury Park's stock does take a massive hit for the lopsided loss to Millikan, but there are a couple caveats. One, Millikan had already played (and won) a Week Double Zero contest before facing Newbury Park, and two, it was likely this new-look team would need time to mesh. Look for a momentous win this week against Arroyo Grande.
23. Oak Hills (1-0 – 21st)
Technically Oak Hills drops two spots with Millikan and Chaminade leaping for beating higher-ranked teams, but last week's 35-6 rout of Highland (Palmdale) was a statement victory. With all its big names across the field, Oak Hills might have the upside to peak 10 or more spots higher.
24. Leuzinger (1-0 – Bubble)
Leuzinger kicked things off with quite a defensive gem, beating Long Beach Poly 14-3. It'll be the heavy favorite this week at Palmdale.
25. Long Beach Poly (0-1 – 23rd)
The good news: holding Leuzinger to 14 points was very impressive. The bad news: scoring three points won't win you almost any football games. Unfortunately for the Jackrabbits, their competition won't get much easier in the next two weeks facing Lincoln (San Diego) and Tustin.
ON THE BUBBLE:
Rancho Cucamonga, St. Bonaventure, Vista Murrieta, Downey, Palos Verdes, Bishop Amat, Tustin, San Clemente
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